At Long Last - the Video

One thing I forgot to mention about Whisper’s dental appointment. In order to have the procedure he had to walk into a trailer then into the stocks. The dentist was extremely patient with him allowing him to smell and proceed pretty much at his own pace. When he was about a third of the way in I tapped him on the butt and he moved right in. No muss, little fuss, just general curiousity.

And now the long promised and oft delayed video of Whisper jumping. He’s a little excited but is paying attention. There is speculation that he is pulling me around the arena – he definitely is at the end but before that I thought I was just walking to keep him in line with the jumps. Comments are welcome.

Whisper was dripping with sweat by the time we were done and my husband spent a fair amount of time walking him afterward. I was gratified by how well they got along. He (husband) is not a horse person but has extensive people training skills and his approach to Whisper reflects this. He brooks no nonsense. He was very clear cut about what he wanted Whisper to do and I think Whisper appreciates that. He (Whisper) gets very frustrated when he can’t figure out what I want. I think my body language is ambivalent at times which only adds to the frustration. Now I have some videos to compare with the ‘right’ way to do things. That can only help. Back to ‘they got along well.’ I was initially concerned that Whisper would become a one person horse but he is quite the social butterfly. He gives everyone he meets benefit of the doubt. If they have a pat, a rub, and a few words for him he calls them friend. That’s not to say he comes racing up to greet you – he is rather reserved – but he will wait calmly to be approached and greeted. Which brings up another quirk. Whisper must be greeted. If I walk up to him, put a halter on (yes , he allows that with no problem now), and lead him out of the pasture without petting him and saying ‘hi’ he is offended and will mope along until I realize what’s going on. Only some scratching and conversation will placate him. All in all he’s a pretty loveable guy. If I stand under his head and put my arms around his neck (did I mention this is a big horse?) he will rest his head on my shoulder. I take that to mean he likes being hugged.

After his tough day yesterday we went back to basic groundwork today. He walked and trotted over the tarp and some poles. He does amazingly well at that now. The tarp is an old friend and I think he likes prancing over the poles. After that to the bucket and I put weight in a stirrup and leaned across the saddle. Of course the bucket had to fall over and I poked Whisper in the stomach with my boot. He took a couple of steps sideways and stopped. I removed my boot from the stirrup and told him he was a good boy. I did that once more (without the poke) then decided it wasn't all that safe and moved him to a wall. He doesn't really like standing by the wall but he finally stood still long enough to get patted and for me to stand in the stirrup and lay across the saddle. He kept turning his head to look at me - probably wondering why I don't just get on with it - but never moved. I think he may be ready to ride.